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Stephanie Ann D'Abruzzo (; born December 7, 1971) is an American actress and puppeteer. She has performed various Muppets in the television program ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
''. She held starring roles on the children's TV shows '' Oobi'' and ''
The Book of Pooh ''The Book of Pooh'' is an American preschool educational children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on the Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based ...
''. D'Abruzzo is also well known for playing Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut in the original Broadway production of '' Avenue Q'' in 2003. She received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance.


Early life

D'Abruzzo was born in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, on December 7, 1971, and grew up in McMurray, a Pittsburgh suburb she has described as a "plastic bubble kind of town." She graduated from Peters Township High School in 1989 and attended the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts, a summer program for gifted high school students. D'Abruzzo is a 1993 graduate of the Radio/Television/Film program at
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
. At the university's Communications Residential College (CRC), she could often be caught watching (and, as it turns out, studying) ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
''. She had a large collection of Muppet recordings, which she compiled into a mixtape that she auctioned off for dorm fundraisers. Eventually, D'Abruzzo began to consider puppetry as a career, in part as a solution to finding acting roles after she "gained more than the Freshman 15 and ota bad perm." D'Abruzzo's production of a puppet television show called ''Freeform'' won the National College Emmy award for comedy. D'Abruzzo's other roles at Northwestern included Mildred in the short film ''The Ballad of Hank and Mildred'' and as herself in ''The Glance.'' While in college, she also performed with a campus
improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...
troupe.


Career

D'Abruzzo has spent much of her career performing as a puppeteer in children's television, but she is known for originating the roles of single schoolteacher Kate Monster and sultry chanteuse Lucy the Slut in 2003 in the Broadway
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
'' Avenue Q''. She garnered acclaim for her performance of the dual role, including a nomination for the 2004
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
for Best Actress in a Musical, a Drama Desk nomination, the Theatre World Award, and the 2003–2004 Outer Critics Circle Special Ensemble Award. Other stage credits include '' I Love You Because'' (
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
) (2006), '' If You Give A Mouse A Cookie'' (Off-Broadway, ''TheaterworksUSA'', 2006), ''
Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...
'' (for City Center Encores!, 2002), ''Kiss and Makeup'' (New York City Fringe Festival, 2007), and ''Austentatious'' (New York Musical Theatre Festival) in 2007. D'Abruzzo has performed in developmental readings of ''Avenue Q'', ''I Love You Because'', '' Oh, What a Lovely War!'' (2005), ''The $trip'', ''The Medium at Large'', and ''The Green Room''. She has also been featured in several concerts and benefits, including ''Skitch Henderson's New Faces of 2004'' at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
, Encores! 10th Anniversary Bash, ''
Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
'' (for the Actors' Fund, 2003), ''Children and Art: Stephen Sondheim's 75th Birthday Gala'' (2005), and ''Stephen Sondheim's 75th: The Concert'' (at the Hollywood Bowl, 2005). D'Abruzzo appears on the original cast recordings of ''Avenue Q'' and ''I Love You Because'' and performs the parts of "Sheldon" and "Deb" on the studio recording of '' Finding Nemo – The Musical'', a musical production performed several times each day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. She is one of the performers included in the documentary '' ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway (2007),'' which chronicles the 2003–2004 Broadway season. In May 2005, D'Abruzzo made her solo cabaret debut at the New York City
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
club Birdland.


Television

Since 1993, D'Abruzzo has performed as various Muppets in ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'', including a notable performance singing with R.E.M. in a new version of their song " Shiny Happy People" called "Furry Happy Monsters". From 2000 to 2005, she appeared as Uma and Inka on the Noggin series '' Oobi''. D'Abruzzo worked on ''Oobi'' along with her husband, Craig Shemin, who was part of the show's writing staff. Her other puppeteering and voice work includes appearances in '' Sheep in the Big City'', ''
The Book of Pooh ''The Book of Pooh'' is an American preschool educational children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on the Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based ...
'', '' The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss'' (1997), and '' Jack's Big Music Show'', along with various commercials and promos. She guest starred in a musical episode of '' Scrubs'' titled "
My Musical "My Musical" is a musical film, musical episode of the American television sitcom television series ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs''. It is the 123rd episode of the show, and was originally aired as the sixth episode of the Scrubs season 6, sixt ...
", as a patient with a mysterious ailment that caused her to interpret speech as Broadway-esque song and dance numbers. She sang in five of the nine songs. Four of the episode's songs were co-written by ''Avenue Q'' composers Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. She later appeared in a cameo in episode " My Finale", as series protagonist J.D. leaves Sacred Heart for the final time. D'Abruzzo performed Prairie Dawn on ''Sesame Street'' season 46, following the retirement of Prairie Dawn's original performer, Fran Brill, in 2015. D’Abruzzo voiced Kimmy’s long-lost backpack, Jan S. Port, in Season 4, episode 6 of the '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' ("Kimmy Meets an Old Friend"). She reprised her role in the show's interactive film.


Personal life

She is married to Craig Shemin, a writer and producer and board member of the Jim Henson Legacy. They married on September 17, 1995, and live in New York City.


Filmography

* ''The Varsity Cafe'' (TV, 1990) - Frieda * ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' (1993–present) - Prairie Dawn (Since 2016), Elizabeth, Mrs. Crustworthy (Since 2016), Lulu, Curly Bear, Googel, Additional Muppets * '' The Puzzle Place'' (1995) - Jody Silver and Pink Piece Police (Season 2) * '' The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss'' (TV, 1996) - Little Cat B, Annie DeLoo, Max the Dog, Jane Kangaroo, Pam-I-Am, Sue Snue, Sarah Hall-Small, Additional Muppets * '' Elmo's World'' (1998) - Curly Bear, Elizabeth, Pillow, Diva D'Abruzzo, Additional Muppets * '' The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland'' (1999) - Grizzy, Pestie * ''Elmo's World: The Wild Wild West'' (2001) - Googel (Monster Clubhouse segment only) *'' Scrubs'' (2001) - Patti (6.06, 8.19), AM Muppet (Ex Ray- 8.05) * ''
The Book of Pooh ''The Book of Pooh'' is an American preschool educational children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on the Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based ...
'' (TV, 2001–2003) - Kessie * '' Jack's Big Music Show'' (2005) - Gertrude the Groundhog, Scat Cat *'' Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures'' (2006-2013) Heidi, Clarice the Cow, Lady Lulu Quackerville, Lily, Bertina, Ostrich Lady * ''Abby's Flying Fairy School'' (2009) - Super Fairy *'' Cookie's Crumby Pictures'' (2013) - Iffy, M, Princess Parfaita, Sally *'' Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map'' (2013) - Velma Dinkley and Shirley * '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' (2016-2018) - Jan S. Port, Pupazza assistant puppeteer * '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend'' (2020) - Jan S. Port * '' Helpsters'' - Cody (2019–present) * '' Oobi'' (2000–2005) - Uma, Inka *''
Julie's Greenroom ''Julie's Greenroom'' is an American educational pre-school television series that was released on Netflix on March 17, 2017. Characters * Miss Julie (portrayed by Julie Andrews) – The director of the Wellspring Center for the Performing Arts. ...
'' (2017) - Peri *'' The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo'' (2020) - Mae, Prairie Dawn * '' Donkey Hodie'' (TV, 2021–present) - Duck Duck, Harriett Elizabeth Cow *'' Furry Friends Forever: Elmo Gets a Puppy'' (2021) - Mae


References


External links


Official website
* *
Stephanie D'Abruzzo
at th
Internet Off-Broadway Database

Stephanie D'Abruzzo and John Tartaglia
- ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org
THE Q INTERVIEW: Kate Monster interviews Stephanie
* and at the
''BroadwayWorld.com'' interview with Stephanie D'Abruzzo, June 13, 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:DAbruzzo, Stephanie 1971 births Living people Actresses from Pittsburgh American musical theatre actresses American people of Italian descent American puppeteers American stage actresses American video game actresses American voice actresses Female puppeteers Theatre World Award winners Northwestern University School of Communication alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses